The Dark Lady
by Demon Eyes Laharl
Summary: Two years, Ayumi Kudo returns, donning a dark mask to fight against the rising crime in a path of vengeance against a man who had almost destroyed her... the man who calls himself the Joker. -Sequel to Ace of Knave-
1. Prologue

**00 – The Dark Lady**

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Shadows enveloped the surroundings, making Kudo squint her eyes to adjust her eyes towards the darkness. Behind her, a little boy of her age was gasping, trying to catch up. His spectacles reflected the little light emanating from their flashlights.

"Ayumi-chan!" the boy shouted, almost tripping over a few protruding rocks on the ground. "Wait up!"

"Oh, can it, Four-eyes," Kudo growled slightly, hearing the echo of her companion's shout ring in her ears. "Its getting annoying hearing you shout over and over and over again!"

"We should go back!" the boy stated, looking worriedly behind him, and towards his watch. "Our parents would kill us if we don't make it back in time for dinner!"

"If you're that worried, you go back," Kudo replied nonchalantly.

"And explain your absence to them? Uh-uh! No way!"

"Then stop being a dweeb and follow me!" Kudo muttered, shining her flashlight again in front. "Unless your too scared… hah! Wonder how your daddy's gonna take it having your female rival be braver than you…"

"Now you're just grasping," the boy stated seriously, looking at her with narrow eyes. "You're the one who's scared, aren't you? I mean, you had to drag me here…"

Kudo felt her cheeks go red for a moment, before shouting back towards the boy, "HEY! I'm not scared you stupid four-eyes! I don't need you here! I can just-"

"Ayumi! Watch out!!!"

Everything came in to fast. Maybe it was a misstep or her anger, but she didn't spot a chasm she had stepped on until it was too late. She could see her companion trying to grab her as she fell, but he was too slow. It wasn't a long fall… her body hit the stone ground hard, but she broke no bones or limbs. Her body was still hurt, and her mind was still spinning. She grabbed the ground around her, trying to feel her surroundings. Everything was pitch-black.

"AYUMI! You okay!?"

"Y-yeah…!" Kudo shuddered. Everything down here was so dark.

"I'll get help!"

Shifting of feet… seems the boy took off. Growling, Kudo tried to feel for her left arm, her right hand going for her watch. With a little tweak, her watch suddenly beeped, and green LEDs in the face of her watch began blinking, turning on her tracer. Her father had the other pair, which would make it easier for them to find her again.

Feeling somewhat better, she sat down, and scrounged around again. Her flashlight must be around somewhere… it was turned off, most probably by the impact but since the professor Agasa made it, she was sure it would still work.

Her fingers pricked more of her surroundings, and she finally felt the smooth cylindrical body of her flashlight, and grabbed it. She shook it slightly, fiddled around for the switch, and after a few seconds, the lamp powered up and began to bathe the whole area in light.

Kudo noticed one thing… she wasn't alone. And before she could do anything, she was swarmed by the dark shadows, engulfing her, and biting her. She could only bring up her arms to protect her face. She screamed… and screamed… and screamed.

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The darkness embraced her as she woke up from her bed. She had sat up sharply, awakening from the memory of her past. The movement caused her to grunt in pain, fire spreading all over her left leg. Groaning, her arm automatically went to her bedside counter, and grabbed a syringe, which she promptly injected on her pained leg.

The effect was immediate. Her limb stopped feeling pain as the fire died down. She took a couple of deep breathes, before she slid her legs at the side of the bed, and stood up. Walking across the dark room, Ayumi Kudo exited her room, and made a bee-line towards the stairs. Each step created a muffled sound, all until Kudo reached her destination: a rather large grandfather clock.

Reaching for the face, Kudo adjusted the time to 10:03, and a small click was heard. Kudo opened the glass body, walked inside, and disappeared in the shadows.

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It was a dark night. The frosty air was salty and rather uncaring. In a rather large abandoned factory, a winged shadow was seen, moving through the shadows of other objects with ease. The metal cage rang slightly, suggesting that someone was walking on them.

There was a door, and that creaked open as the shadowed figure pushed itself inside. The air changed from cool to stale in just seconds as the figure moved quickly again, through the narrowed depilated interior until the figure stopped as the space inside expanded.

The ceiling was made of glass, shattered with a hole in the center, leaving cracks in its wake. At the bottom was a big pool of green chemicals. It was left there when the company owning the factory went bankrupt. They had thought that leaving everything behind was much cheaper than cleaning it up, and had tried to sell the land to someone else, leaving the mess up to the new owners.

No one bought the land. Not even the government. And because of that… brought forth from an accident…

A scream was heard, just for a second, but it was enough for the shadowed figure to look up. Something was amiss. Ignoring her train of thoughts up to that moment, she moved immediately, disappearing in the night.

Outside, just a few blocks away, a group of men swarmed around a helpless woman, who had screamed earlier. Now, she was pinned, mouth covered with one of the guy's hand as the others began trying to undress her.

"Hey, hey, pretty lady… why were you screaming? We only want to play."

The men chuckled loudly, one morbidly discussing what they were going to plan for their victim, who could only whimper. Her eyes rolled left and right through fear, her screams muffled once more as the thugs ripped out her top, looking at her with lusting eyes. She could only close her eyes, awaiting for the inevitable.

The men suddenly shouted in shock as something bounced in front of them, and exploded into a thick smoke.

"What the…?" one of the men muttered in surprise.

"Who did that!? Who did that!?"

"Shut up! You're too loud!"

"Shhh! Shhh!" and there was a pause. "Do you… hear that?"

Muffled cries as one of the men found himself kissing the ground painfully, and a swiftly knocked unconscious. Then soon, more cries as more men were felled by a shadowy figure. The group wasn't unconscious about it though as some of them suddenly brought out guns, only to scream as they felt stabbing pains to their hands.

One of them lifted their hands, and his eyes widened when he realized what was protruding on his bloodied hand: a bat shaped knife.

"S-s-she's here!" the man muttered. "SHE'S HERE!"

"Damn it… everyone, get away!" one of the men stated. "Get out of here!"

Screaming slightly, the group fled in different directions, but it was no use, as some were knocked out immediately. The man who had shouted his order didn't look back, but he could hear more and more of his guys screaming… but he didn't dare look back. He zigzagged across the area, trying, hoping he'd lose her. He was ecstatic the longer he kept himself with pace, convincing himself that he outran her.

Then, his luck struck out. He found himself in an alley with a dead-end.

Cursing, he tried to retrace his steps back, but as he turned, he saw a moving shadow roaming on the walls. Panicking, he grabbed his gun and shot a few times towards the figure in motion. He retreated, taking tentative steps backwards, his eyes roaming as he tried to spot for more shadows. He then spotted another, pointed the gun to that area, and shot again.

He began to sweat. The dark night air was getting to him, and other than the ringing sounds of his gunshots, he could hear nothing. He felt that his surroundings were slowly pinning him. Then… a heard something move, and he fired once more to that spot.

He could feel the sweat pouring down on his forehead, and he wiped it off with his forearm. He was already dizzy, his heart almost giving out.

"Damn it… WHERE ARE YOU!?" he shouted.

"Here…"

The man turned, and all he could see was a face, or at least could be a face, except there were no eyes, no mouth and a slight jag on the middle as a nose of some sort, except pointed. On top of the head were two spikes at each side, like two horns.

His reaction was quick. His hand holding the gun pointed towards the shadow figure, only for that figure to disappear at the shot, and re-appear in front of him again. She was faster, disarming him altogether with one movement, and pushing him down towards the ground.

"Rude," she exclaimed calmly.

"No… wait! Wait!" the man muttered, scampering away. He didn't get far as she came at him quickly with a punishing left punch towards his cheek. The man thought he was beheaded… he never felt such a strong punch before!

"Why do you run?"

The man scampered away, the pain of the punch still having him reeling. "Stay away!" he muttered, trying to get away from the shadow. "Stay away! Stay away, stay away!"

"Why are you whimpering? I only want to play."

The shadow figure walked closer. Her voice was getting more menacing as she approached.

"Isn't that what you said to that poor lady?"

"I didn't… no… I…"

"Lying now? Let me show you what I do with people like you…"

She dove at him, and he could only scream as he covered his face with his arms, and he felt her carry him up… up… higher and higher so fast that he could feel the wind blowing on his body. He slowly opened his eyes when the motion stopped, and he could see the ground from his position… cowering somewhat, he looked in front of him to see the shadowed figure looking (apparently, as he can't see if she has eyes) at him. Looking around more, he found himself being held at the ledge of a building.

"No… spare me!" the man whispered.

"Spare you? Like you would have done to that woman?" the figure growled.

"I-I-I won't do i-it again!"

"I'll make sure you don't."

"What do you-"

She let go of him, and gravity took care of the rest. His scream was even louder as his body turned, his head turning downwards towards the ground… he could see fast approaching the pavement, and his mind going almost blank as he felt his end nearing. However, like a snap of a wire, his body stopped just a few inches from the ground.

The man never noticed nor felt the wire on his legs. He couldn't even feel the sting of his eyes as his tears flowed backwards. He could only look on top of the ledge, where the shadow woman was crouching on, seemingly staring at him.

He fainted.

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Inside a cave, lit by a few ceiling lights and a large terminal with multiple screens, one shorthaired blonde woman was looking towards one of the darkest parts of the cave, and looking at her watch. Before long, she could hear a loud roar as light suddenly flooded from the area she was looking out, and a sleek black car appeared from view. Parking in a center of a metallic dais, the hood of the car popped and slid open, revealing the masked shadowy figure that jumped out of her seat, and moved swiftly from the car, passing by the blonde woman, who just stood there, unmovable.

"You know what time it is?" the woman asked.

"I came back before sunrise," the figure spoke. "There's no problem."

The two made way towards the terminal computer, where the figure sat down. Now fully illuminated, her features were more distinct. Her suit was a tight one piece body suit, covering her almost completely, made of material most would mistaken for cloth, but if one would look at it closely, the waving pattern would give away the fact that it was not some regular piece of clothing. The mask, made of almost the same material, except the eyes were covered by a thinner piece, along with the mouth and nose.

Removing the cowl, Kudo's face was finally revealed, her eyes narrowing as she typed on the terminal, and each screen slowly displaying the face of the man he was looking for.

"No luck yet?" the blonde woman asked.

"He hasn't been seen for two years," Kudo muttered, typing more. "I thought that having a dark shadow preventing crime would be more than enough to bring him out again… but… its been weeks. Maybe its time I stopped going for the small-timers, and grab on the big fishes…"

"Ayumi-kun… I know you are a bit obsessed with the Joker, but maybe you should just let sleeping dogs lie?"

Kudo's hand slammed on the table, almost hitting the keyboard with full force.

"Miyano-san, I know father told you to help me, and I appreciate everything you have done, but I do not need your opinion on this matter!" Kudo growled, facing the other woman. She turned back towards the terminal, and began typing again. "As long as he is out there, no one is safe. What he did before changed everything! Crime rates soared, Yakuzas flourished, the police force is in shambles, and what do we have to show for it? Absolutely nothing!"

"Your father's worried," Miyano Shiho, the blonde woman, looked at Kudo's back. She sighed. "Your leg hasn't fully healed… and as long as you keep using those drugs you keep injecting yourself with, you won't allow it to. Your obsession with this person is scaring him, frankly."

"Person?" Kudo chuckled darkly. "This man is a monster."

"Frankly, you're turning to one too," the other woman declared.

"I'll turn myself into one to destroy another," Kudo stated with a soft deadly whisper.

"I thought you were better than that, Ayumi-kun," Miyano whispered, turning her back on her care, who just ignored her. Each of the screen was his face… the white faced man, whose smile was seemingly always present.

Ayumi Kudo stared at him through the screens, looking at his smile and motion. Her face showed no emotion, but her hands shook with rage. Her thoughts darkened as she imagined what she would finally do once she lures him out…

Her hand moved towards the mouse, and clicked somewhere with the pointer, closing all the images and video files she had on the Joker, and opened a list of files. Her mind sparked as she began typing down on her computer, trying her plan out, and slowly hitting it with different scenarios, countering them with her own. She needed to get this perfectly… she needed to find him.

And finish him.

**To Be Continued…**

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_Yes… Kudo went cuckoo… xD _

_The story is still on its planning stage. I have the plot on my head, but the smaller details still need to be planned out. Mostly, I'm still trying to establish a timeline, which I can really ignore, but it may bother a few readers once in a while. Just to clarify, I'm not using the ending age of the manga series as a starting point. I'll expand more as I root other details out. _

_Anyways, hope you look forward to this story as well. I think hogging myself with my Playstation 3 was the worse thing I could do for my writing skills. It felt rusty, really. Ja ne! _


	2. The Replacement

**01 – The Replacement**

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"_Good evening, this is Miyoko Chie, for Tokyo News. Top of the story tonight is Detective Heiji, who had just transferred from Osaka city was promoted as lead detective for the police department. This afternoon, the Chief of police called a press conference as they discussed their plans for fighting the rising crime rate of the city." _

The view changed, from the news studio, towards the front of the police department, with the Chief of police standing in front of a microphone, and speaking inaudibly.

"_Detective Heiji is a welcoming addition to our team," the Chief stated. "He is a high caliber detective, well known in the Kansai region, and arguably on the same level as Detective Kudo, who has, unfortunately, left the department." _

"_Does Detective Kudo know about her replacement?" a reporter asked. _

"_I have called her about this, and she easily recommended Detective Heiji." _

The view changed once more, as the Chief was replaced by Heiji on the stand, speaking.

"_Actually, I haven't talked to Kudo-san at all since her injury two years ago. The whole situation is a tragedy, and her services for the Police Department were, as most of my colleagues agree, irreplaceable, but she agrees that crime does not rest. We have to keep working, and work hard to gain back peace in this city."_

"_Do you have any plans you wish to share with our viewers as you take on your job as lead detective for the police department?" a reporter asked._

"_While I cannot divulge specifics, I have been cleared to say this: my job is to bring down the crime rate which has risen since the rise of this psychotic criminal known as the Joker. While he has yet to appear, he left in his wake the means and opportunity for crime syndicate to rise up to a point where this once great city has been suffering because of it. As I take this job, I have established, with the permission with the Chief, of course, a unit that is specialized for heinous crimes, and those linked to the syndicates. Our job is to maintain peace, and eradicate crime as my predecessor did." _

"_How about this 'shadow woman' who had appeared in the past few weeks who had been terrorizing criminals?" another reporter asked. "How will you deal with her?"_

"_Personal opinions aside, I am, above all, an officer of the law. Whoever this shadow woman is, she is breaking that very law we as citizens are supposed to uphold. If we ever encounter her, we will do what that very law demands us to do." _

Then, the studio reappeared, while the picture of Heiji as he was talking minimized into a small screen on the announcer's left, muted.

"_Brave words. And hopefully, he would live up to them. While many people feel that the police are wrong about their plans concerning this mysterious figure… most feel that after two years of increasing crimes, the police have someone competent to-" _

Kudo growled, and turned off her TV. Behind her, Miyano Shiho had a small smile on her face, and moved towards the couch beside Kudo and sat down. Her smile never left its place, earning her a glare from her care.

"What's funny?" Kudo asked.

"Well, it seems you got annoyed, rather, towards the end," Miyano replied easily.

"Heiji speaks too much," Kudo muttered, lowering her volume. "I didn't know he'd grow up to be such a media-hog."

"Well, I'm sure Heiji-kun would love to hear your opinion about it when he comes over," the blonde woman reminded, standing up again.

Kudo could only nod, and relaxed slightly on her couch.

The living room was large, and considering the history of this house, it was expected to be so. This mansion was one of the few properties that the Black Organization had owned and used as a headquarters before his father, with the full backing of the police, FBI and CIA stormed into the organization and their branches with an effective blitz. This was also her father's care, who fascinated by anything remotely mysterious, moved in here, even after marriage, just to explore this house's secrets, which it held, plentifully.

Kudo also had a few memories here. This was where she and Heiji explored when they were younger, and it was around this area, rich in rock caves, where she had fallen into a chasm, and had been attacked by bats.

The doorbell rang. Kudo automatically grabbed her cane, and slowly pushed herself up. Her left leg for a moment tinged with fire, but when the pressure was off the pain lifted, and she could drag herself to the front door.

"Hey, Ayumi-chan!" Heiji's greeting came in, as his face, much more relaxed than it had been on the news earlier, smiled as he entered. His eyes behind his glasses moved slightly towards her leg, and his lips almost frowned, but he kept himself.

Heiji Kei looked like he never aged. His light brown face was still smooth, though now slowly developing sharp lines across his cheek. His face matched his black hair, which was obviously combed, but now disheveled by the elements with his bangs coming down towards his square-rimmed glasses.

"Kudo-san," the Chief of police walked in after Heiji, and greeted her with a nod.

"Welcome," Kudo stated neutrally towards them. She looked towards Heiji and frowned. "And don't call me that."

"Ah, don't be mean," the young man stated. His eyes suddenly spotted Miyano, and smiled. "Hey, auntie Ai!"

"Don't you call me that," Miyano growled.

"You two been hanging with each other too long," Heiji smiled. "So… we late for dinner?"

Supper was uneventful. The food was served in the large dining table, with Miyano and Heiji, who volunteered, placed the plates and the dishes, where the Chief and the injured Kudo waited in silence. Done with the task, the four ate in relative silence until Heiji started some small talk that got the Chief and Miyano in. He had tried a few times to invite Kudo in the mix, but she'd wave it out, and just listen to them intently.

"Meh, Auntie Ai, you cook next time," Heiji suddenly interjected after getting another bowl of rice. "All this take-out is expensive."

"Hospital bills are more expensive," Kudo replied neutrally, surprising the other three on the table. "If Miyano can cook anything edible, I'd eat my cane."

"Hey!" the older blonde woman complained, only to be drowned in Heiji's guffaws and the Chief's chuckle. "You two stop laughing!"

It was over an hour when all the leftovers were properly placed in plastic boxes, stored in the fridge to be eaten for another day, and the dishes washed and dried did the mood go serious again. Back to the large living room, Kudo finally sat down on her comfortable couch, and in front of her were the Chief and Heiji, sitting on their own couches, placing folders on the table between them.

"Hmph… are you sure you want to discuss your job here instead of your new unit?" Kudo muttered, grabbing one of the folders.

"I'd rather go first with you and the chief before I do anything else with the other officers in the unit," Heiji replied rather seriously as he grabbed another folder. "Besides… there are some questions only you can answer."

"Like what?" Kudo asked, not even looking at the man as he spoke, flipping through the pages in the file.

"About this Joker guy…"

Heiji felt Kudo's eyes suddenly glaring at him in an instant, and he nervously chuckled.

"I have to ask, you know," he muttered in his defense.

"I already put a nice long file about him before I left my position," the woman growled. "I'm pretty sure you read it more than once. If not, do so again. I'm washing my hands off that monster."

"Look, sorry, Ayumi-chan, but I had to ask. You are the only one who almost caught this guy, yet your file, forgive me for saying, is very lacking. You're probably the most experienced one in dealing with him, and I need all the help and insight I need if he will appear again. "

"It's been two years. There has been no whisper, no peep about him since his disappearance," Kudo stated, her voice growing colder. Her eyes were back again on the file.

"It doesn't mean he's gone, you know," Heiji countered. "I'm sure someone knows something… criminal circles, Yakuza, street thugs-"

"Whatever they have to say about the Joker would most likely be a lie," Kudo cut him off.

"And why would you say that?"

"Because the Joker is a showman. He loves to be the center of attention. If he hasn't been showing himself around, he must be waiting for something, or moved somewhere else, or hope to the gods… dead. Cold dead," the woman muttered. "I doubt he's dead though. Just pray… really, really hard… that he won't show himself."

"He must have left a large impression," Heiji noted.

"He single handedly ruined my father's, and my work in just a year," Kudo frowned, staring at the file she had been reading more thoroughly. "His legacy continues even now, at his absence." She paused. "What the hell is this?"

"What?" Heiji looked up, checking what his childhood friend was checking.

"This…" and without a pause, Kudo threw the file she had been reading towards the table to a certain page, which had names of officers in alphabetical order.

"Uh… name of the officers I had picked up for as my team for the Major Crime Unit," Heiji replied easily, albeit a bit confused. "Why?"

"Redo it," the woman replied, pointing at five different names.

"Uh… no," Heiji stated.

"I'm not playing, Heiji," Kudo muttered more seriously. "Redo your team."

"Look, Kudo, I don't know if you're being bitter-"

"Bitter?" the woman fumed somewhat, looking at the other man carefully.

"Well, how can you explain this jerk-knee reaction to it? You're either bitter or jealous-"

"Now it's jealous?" Kudo growled. "Get your head out of your ass, Heiji. I may not like your little media stunt in the TV earlier-"

"That media stunt was something that the public needed… some assurance since they were still waiting for you to recover," Heiji cut her evenly. "You're not a media-person, you didn't even do any interviews at all when the whole Joker-outbreak went on. Hell, you didn't even form a specialized unit. You love working alone. If the department didn't even order you to work with that fake psychiatrist, you wouldn't have. Look, I'm sorry your life turned shitty but come on, Kudo. Don't take that out on me."

"I'm not," the woman sighed. "Yeah, I don't like how you work… too different from my approach, and I also don't like the fact that you just started here and you already have your own unit, but honestly, I do not mind. What I do mind is the fact half of your team has been investigated by the IA."

"I'm not like you, Ayumi-chan…" Heiji sighed as well, relaxing. "I don't get bonus points for being an idealist. I work with what I get. The department doesn't trust me, or have been too laden with fear. As days pass, it's more influenced with the Yakuza. I need something to fight back."

The tension slowly lifted from the room. The Chief was sitting there, watching, somewhat fascinated like watching two forces pushing at each other. They may not have noticed, but they were almost at the verge of standing, leaning at the very edges of their seat. It was a rather entertaining sight for him.

"Do you trust these officers?" Kudo whispered, visibly relaxed now.

"I don't know. I never worked with them before."

"Don't drop your guard around them," Kudo muttered. "Your team. Your funeral."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Heiji frowned.

"Alright… but you mess up, I won't let you live it down," Kudo smirked. "So, is there anything else?"

* * *

Kudo sighed. Heiji had left earlier, as he was now about to start the big job. Discussing his plans with her, she knew that Heiji needed help. She didn't trust the officers on his team, and while she couldn't do anything about it, she could perhaps lower the chance of Heiji being tripped up somewhere. And then there's his overall plan with dealing with the Yakuza…

"This needs a lot of work," Kudo stated towards the lone male sitting in the couch across from her. The Chief of police had stayed in, mostly quiet during the conversations, giving some input when it was necessary.

"Can't blame him… he just started his work here, is an official part of the police force, and has to abide with regulations," the Chief stared at Kudo. "Unlike you."

"You disapprove?" Kudo shot back.

"Miyano-san keeps me informed, and I share her worries," the Chief stated neutrally. "I'd rather have you back at the force."

"Officially, my leg is a wreck."

"As long as your brain works," the Chief stated.

"At least I know one man who wants me for my brains," Kudo rolled her eyes. "It feels just as bad as having a man only wanting you for your body."

"I'm sure Heiji respects both aspects…"

Kudo's glare went directly towards the Chief who just chuckled.

"So… you telling him?" the man asked.

"No. This is between us," Kudo sighed. "Plus, I don't want to involve him… at least, not emotionally. Who knows how he'll react if he knew."

"He'd understand, most probably…"

"Yeah, right," Kudo chuckled. "Or arrest me. I'd have done the same if I met the old me."

"True… but…"

"Yeah…"

Both thought of the same thing. The bleach-skinned man who laughed, having caused chaos two years ago… the man who was responsible for countless of deaths, even though his apparent target was three young women, all so he can erase his history as the man before he had become known as the Joker.

He had changed things. Forever.

Sighing, the Chief looked towards Kudo, who smiled back weakly. The air turned somewhat somber around them.

"Anyway," the Chief finally broke the silence. "What did you mean by not wanting to at least involve him emotionally?"

"Oh… you caught that eh?" Kudo smiled.

The Chief chuckled. "I wouldn't have been in my position just by kissing ass, Kudo. You're better at me when I was at my prime, but don't think of me as an idiot."

"I didn't," Kudo chuckled. "And I'm sorry if I may have implied that." She paused, going somewhat serious. "You're right though. I won't tell him who I am… but frankly, I'm a bit disappointed at how small his plan to eradicate the Yakuza is."

"I'm pretty sure he's going to build around his current plan."

"True, but there's a way to speed things up a bit," Kudo stated seriously. She looked at the Chief. "I will help speed up things."

The Chief looked at her seriously as well. "You're playing with fire now. I thought you only had one purpose?"

"Right now, having Heiji troubling the Yakuza is part of that purpose," Kudo muttered slowly. "As a bonus, we can fix this city as it was before."

"The police force won't work with vigilantes."

"I'm not working for the police. I'm only offering my help to a police officer," Kudo stated evenly.

"Well, you have to get him to trust you then," the Chief muttered. "I can't get involved. Heiji's not stupid either…"

"I know," the woman nodded. "I'll take care of it."

The Chief sighed, and relaxed again, leaning back on the couch. Looking at his watch, he realized how late it was. He rubbed his chin, and stood up, looking thoughtful.

"Isn't it about time you went to work?" he asked.

"Yes…" Kudo slowly stood up, putting most of her weight with her uninjured leg and her hand holding her cane, balancing herself. "I can trust you to know your way out?"

"Yeah…" and he paused. "Kudo… after you find him… are you really going to-"

"Kill him?" Kudo huffed. "Yes. Why do you keep asking?"

"After you kill him, what then?" the chief asked.

Kudo looked at the Chief, somewhat blankly. There was no after, just her purpose. She couldn't distract herself with such a question until the situation comes to her, and for that to happen, she has to know that he was dead. By her hand preferably.

"Ask me again when the time comes," Kudo answered, turning around, and leaving the Chief looking at her back.

He sighed. There was little he could do to convince her. Obsession has been in her eyes since she had returned from the hospital two years ago. The fearful raging inferno on those reflective surfaces had scared him, and the worst was that he knew he couldn't do or say anything that would change her mind.

At least she trusted him enough to tell her what she had in mind although it may have helped that she knew that he wouldn't given her up to anyone else. He could have, but the price might be too high and there was still a chance, a slight chance, yet still a chance that she can regain herself, and he was banking on it.

Kudo could hear the Chief's steps a few moments after she had left the living room area, with Miyano at her side, handing her a syringe. Without a second thought, she injected herself on her injured leg, and as always, immediately felt her limb regaining vigor and the small fire of pain fading. Seconds later, she handed her cane back to the blonde woman, and nodded.

"I hope you can recover yourself, you know," a male voice called from behind her. It was the Chief. "Vengeance is not the answer. You should know."

"It's the only answer I have," Kudo replied, without looking back.

The Chief nodded, and led himself to the front door. When he was out, Kudo finally continued on her way towards the grandfather clock.

"Time for work, eh?" Miyano whispered.

"Yes…" Kudo stated as she unlocked the glass door open, revealing the opening. "Time for work."

**To Be Continued**

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_**Author's Notes: **_

_This chapter came easier than the last one, but still took some time. I'm a bit glad my writing aspect is slowly shaking out its rust, and I find myself somewhat satisfied with this chapter. Anyways, enjoy this one guys. Later. _


	3. Return of the Innocent

**02 – The Return of the Innocent**

* * *

It was two hours before sunset, and the streets of Tokyo were almost empty. Passing cars each filled with salary men on their way home from their offices drifted slowly in the highway, the sun reflecting on the chrome finishes of their cars. They had no clue that about a few kilometers from the speed-way, in a rather ragged looking warehouse, a police raid was about to take place.

The SWAT team had been moving slowly, each of them keeping zero radio contact, only using hand signals to communicate with each other. Taking tentative steps as they swarmed the surroundings of that warehouse, they paused each time their lead, looking on as a scout, would signal them to.

The air wasn't disturbed. The SWAT finally arrived on their target building, and the leaders of each unit called upon another member, who without any vocal orders, came forward, and inserted a tube on the openings of the building. One was under a door, others on the broken windows, and some even on holes on the walls.

The men operating the tubes would look at the viewfinder, and would check the interior area of the building, and soon, raised a hand. About a few kilometers away, in an elevated area, a group of civilian dressed officers with binoculars looking at specific SWAT units, with Heiji sitting in the middle, his eyes closed, contemplating on something.

"Team One has the green signal," one of the officers around Heiji called.

"Team Two is go."

"Team Three is go."

"Team Four as well."

"Team Five is on stand… no, wait… they are giving the signal. All teams are go."

Heiji's eyes opened. "Break radio silence. Deploy the signal. Initiate the operation."

Back at the warehouse, the leaders of the SWAT units received the go signal, and without pause, entered the warehouse, guns drawn, safety off. Like a well-oiled machine, the SWAT units came from all directions, pouring in the warehouse like ants attacking their prey, swarming and aiming their guns towards the very surprised men inside to surrender.

Before long, the whole building was under control.

"Team One, clear."

"Team Two, clear."

"Team Three, clear."

"Team Four, clear."

"Team Five, clear. Target acquired."

Heiji heard the transmissions, and nodded. "Give the order."

The SWAT team leaders received their authorization command, and called another of their members, who came with crowbars. They then proceeded towards stacked boxes that were neatly placed inside the center of the area. Without any time wasted, the SWAT members proceeded to forcibly open those boxes.

A few kilometers away, Heiji held his breath, his hand on his ear, listening to the radio conversation. This was it… finally, the moment of truth. A week's worth of intensive investigation, many sleepless nights, success with this operation will finally mean a solid foundation in fighting organized crime.

"This is team leader One…" there was a pause. "Package is clean. Nothing here."

"Goddamnit!" Heiji's hand threw down the receiver he had been holding just a few seconds ago.

* * *

"That was the second time… its no coincidence," Heiji muttered silently towards the Chief.

It had been a few hours after the operation, which was supposed to open doors in getting through the Yakuza. First off was trying to stop the drug trafficking, which was one of the Yakuza's up-and-up business which they don't take too seriously. They profited more on gun-smuggling, prostitution rings and bank schemes, but for Heiji, cornering out their weaker business first before tackling the larger ones would be a good step slowly rooting the organized crime out of their money.

Unfortunately, he had attempted twice in confiscating a rather large quantity of drug supplies which his very close (and outside sources) have pointed out, only to find out the drugs were conveniently absent.

"We have a leak," Heiji stated in a non-accusing manner. "Ayumi-chan said it… maybe I should have listened to her."

"You can still redo your team," the Chief suggested.

"And lose face? No," Heiji shook his head. Maybe announcing his team's name in front of the media with promises that this was the best team he could have formed was not such a bright idea. "I have to catch any of them in the act. That way, I have a legitimate way to take them off the team… but…"

Chief nodded. He knew the problem Heiji was facing. The man was pretty smart, but he couldn't afford investigating his suspected guilty party of his team and not ostracize the others. They would want to know why they would be investigated, by their leader who had just hand-picked them no less. It would be a low blow to their morale.

Not only that, Heiji was also having his hands full trying to get something out of the Yakuza, who had been pretty well-prepared for almost any police actions against them. It was going to take some more planning to get things moving again.

"Sorry for ranting," Heiji sighed. "It's just… I'm empty. No ideas, nothing."

"You can ask Kudo for advice."

"No," Heiji shook his head. "She won't let me live it down, and I'm not in particular mood to see her gloat about it." He then laughed nervously, realizing something. "I'm being silly right now, aren't I?"

"Yes…" the Chief chuckled somewhat. "How long do you think you can gain more ground?"

"Probably another week… maybe even longer," Heiji replied. "My informants are getting a bit pissed that I'm apparently messing things up, hahaha…" He paused. "They are probably going to be angry at me again."

"Well, considering how the Yakuza will respond, getting new info will really do take a while," the Chief stood up and patted Heiji's back gently. "You can take the time and try and figure out how you can finally get them on your next try."

Heiji sighed. Knowing there's a leak is a good start, but knowing where the leak permeates from is another issue entirely. How much info can he give away on his operations without sacrificing effectiveness? Too little and there is a good chance everything ends in failure. Too much, it'll be a repeat of the last two operations. Where is the middle ground?

The phone ringing brought Heiji out of his reverie. The Chief of police moved there immidietly, answering the phone. Heiji stood up, and got ready to leave as the call could be important, and he didn't want to stay around and invade the Chief's privacy, but when the man motioned him to sit down, Heiji shot him a look of inquiry, before he took his seat once again.

"Kudo, Heiji's here…" the Chief stated towards the phone, making the other man look up slightly. "Alright…"

The Chief pushed a button on his phone, turning on the loud-speakers, and putting the handset back to its cradle.

"_**Hey, Heiji." **_

Kudo's voice rang clear, though in the background, there was a slight tapping sound permeating between her words. Heiji realized she was typing.

"Hey, Kudo," Heiji greeted back. "What's up? Here to make fun of me, aren'tcha?"

"_**Make fun? Why?" **_

"My operation failed," Heiji stated nonchalantly, though deep inside, he was wondering what kind of sharp jab Kudo was going to pull on him.

"_**Oh that… try harder next time." **_

"Ugh… damnit Ayumi-chan! That was low! You knew I was expecting some sort of jab, and you just turn around and completely ignore my failings-!"

"_**Oh, cut the crap, Heiji. We got bigger fish to fry." **_

The Chief and Heiji looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"What's going on?"

* * *

"_There was a flight earlier, which had come from the Philippines…"_

A young woman stood there solidly, giving out a few papers in the immigration's window, which were thoroughly looked.

"Business or pleasure?" the man asked in a rather solid English.

"Pleasure," the woman stated in plain Japanese, surprising the man.

"How long will you stay here in Japan?" he asked, now in Japanese.

"As long as it takes…" the woman stated, and then, gave another document with some weird symbols on its face.

"_She spoke perfect Japanese, and she had a foreign passport, but the odd thing was that the government took her in without question…" _

"_Why?" _

"_On her person, she had a letter from the Royal Family of Molmol." _

"Welcome to Tokyo, Maehara-san."

Maehara Shinobu smiled pleasantly as the man gave her back her passport and documents.

"Thank you very much."

* * *

"_**She's Maehara Shinobu, age nineteen… one of **__**his**__** former acquaintances." **_

"The Joker's… right?" Heiji asked, his hand going for his chin. "If I remember correctly, you had suspected her as one of his helpers, right?"

"_**She had a rather huge crush on him when they were together… before his apparent 'death'.**_ _**She was also one of the few that didn't mistreat him." **_

"Are you worried she may become a target like the other three?" Heiji asked, thinking about the three victims of the Joker: Narusegawa, Aoyama, and Konno.

"_**I have no idea. She can be… or maybe she'll just be ignored. However, be that as it may, she may still need protection." **_

"Any suggestions?" the Chief asked.

"_**I was wondering if any fine officer would like to shadow over her."**_

"I'll go," Heiji offered.

"_**Don't you have better things to do?" **_

"Actually, my unit has nothing to do for a good while, except for emergency situations… Besides… I can just get two and three guys with me to look out for the lady," Heiji stated. "Is she still in the Airport?"

"_**No, actually, I just received word just a few moments ago. The flight had arrived an hour before. Even if you leave now she'd have been gone by then." **_

"Any suggestions?" Heiji asked.

"_**You're a detective, Heiji. Deal with it." **_

The man just grinned. "You could have just said 'I don't have anymore information', Ayumi-chan."

The Chief chuckled as there was a rather short snort of anger, and a barely audible mumble before the phone line went dead. Heiji looked rather happy at the outcome, and for one brief moment, went with a rather juvenile thought of putting a scoreboard.

Heiji: 1

Kudo: 0

However, he did not dwell on it, and was on the move again. Grabbing one of his jackets, he exited the room pointing on three officers, who were on alert as he called them.

"Yosubei, Miyamoto, Kensuke, with me," Heiji ordered. "The rest of you, go online. Connect with any contact on the outside, as many as you can."

"Where are we going, sir?" Yosubei asked, trailing now behind Heiji.

"We're on guard duty. Kensuke, you drive. Miyamoto, Yosubei, you keep contact with everyone here, who will try and gather as much information as you can. Our target is a young woman, nineteen years of age. The name is Maehara Shinobu."

Everyone on their desks began typing.

"She just arrived from a flight in the Philippines more than an hour ago. She has a Molmol passport, but she is very much a Japanese citizen. She had disappeared three years ago, and if any of you have done your homework, she was one of the Joker's acquaintances. We believe she may be targeted next."

"But sir… do you think he would-"

"We take no chances," Heiji cut Miyamoto off. "I want everything starting from the airport. What transport did she get? Where did she go? Any close family relatives in the Tokyo area? Is there any recent photos of her? I want everything done now. Not later. Now."

"Yes sir!" the unit at the desk stated solidly, and went back to work, some on the computers, some on the telephones.

* * *

Intelligence gathering isn't really difficult as long as you have resources to help you along the way. Problem was, when you try and gather within the system, the tendency is getting a lot of noise. And boy, was there a lot.

While the details are already there, the information that Heiji got back from base would be no help. He had no need for a flight number, ticket number, or how much luggage she had carried out. Plus, because of the Joker's attack on the government's system two years ago, erasing more than half of the Japanese registry, finding out Maehara Shinobu's family was like finding a needle in a haystack.

There were two-hundred and fifty-six Maehara's living in Tokyo and the outskirts. One-hundred twenty-five of them were married. None of them had a daughter named Shinobu. Considering she might not have been in Japan when the incidents happened, the reason why she had no record was because she wasn't re-registered.

_Makes sense for a Royalty of Molmol would send a letter… especially since if Kudo's report was correct, she was friends with the Royal Princess…_ Heiji thought. He impatiently tapped the foot on the car they were riding.

"Anything yet?" he asked towards the two officers he assigned on keeping contact with HQ.

"Nothing yet sir!"

"Damn…"

* * *

"Arigatou," the beautiful young woman stated as she paid the taxi driver, ignoring the smitten look on his face. Taking the only thing she had carried over from Molmol, Shinobu looked around for a moment, and blushing somewhat when she felt people's eyes around her.

She knew why they stared. She had felt the same stares in Molmol before, when her friend, Su, had brought her to her home country, away from the memories on her first crush who she had thought died.

Perhaps Molmolian clothes weren't exactly something that the Japanese people would find comfortable wearing. It exposed too much skin, in Shinobu's opinion, and even wearing her jacket, she was giving an eyeful to many men around her. She even grimaced somewhat when one of the guy's girlfriend just slapped him hard for staring too long.

She needed new clothes.

Her fare hurried away, making the taxi driver whistle in regret. In his opinion, he just witnessed one of the most beautiful women walk away from him. He chuckled, wondering when he'll meet a girl like her again.

He checked the money he was given to for the first time. He blinked, and looked at it closely. He was pretty sure the Japanese Yen didn't have such weird eye symbols.

* * *

"Repeat that?" Heiji asked towards the phone, wondering if they finally stumbled into something solid.

"_A report was just called in. A taxi driver had dropped off a woman with dark blue hair, who paid him with funny money. The money she had given was identified as the Molmol currency, Demam." _

"How long ago was this?" the man asked.

"_About fifteen minutes ago. It was reported immediately because the taxi driver thought he got duped." _

"Give me the area where she was dropped."

* * *

Shinobu's eyes widened when she was suddenly given a rather large sum of Yen with the Demam she had just exchanged earlier. The money-exchanger had been professional, but his hands shook slightly, as he had began to count the money again. It was one thing to tally all profits by the end of the day, but it was something else to count large sums to give to a single person, who, by the look of her shock-stricken face, was just as surprised.

"A-ano… are you sure this is right?" Shinobu asked. She had worried somewhat that he had underpaid her cab driver when she paid him in Demam, but was now wondering if he may have overpaid him instead.

"One Demam is about ten-thousand yen," the teller stated. "For one hundred Demam, the sum of one million Yen-"

Shinobu panicked at the amount. "No, wait! Wait!" she exclaimed. There was no need for such an extravagant amount! She dove towards her bag, where she had kept her savings, and began to openly count the Demam bills. After folding a few more hundred Demams, she finally found her smaller bills, and put down a fifty Demam bill.

"Here!" she stated, rather awkwardly. "Just… this."

The teller nodded, and handed back the hundred Demam, and took the fifty, and recounted five hundred thousand yen, still a very good amount. Placing the cash in a medium sized envelope, he handed her the whole thing, and allowed her to count it.

"Thank you," she stated, still feeling some doubt about the money. Still… it helps. The money she got now would really come a long way when she will buy clothes that would attract less attention, provide food and a nice roof above her head before she would go and visit her father. Still… she hadn't expected her savings to be worth this much.

As she left, she didn't notice the teller grabbing his cell phone, and made a call.

* * *

The darkness was coming. Heiji could see the sun fade, with the sky washed in red transforming to the dark shade of blue as the sun began to fade. There was a feeling of unease as he felt a need to rush out and find the Maehara woman, but couldn't find a reason why. He never questioned the feeling though… his inner gut was quite accurate in getting the general sense of dread he would feel… he felt it before Kudo fell on the chasm when he was still a kid and he also felt it before the test results of his cram school would show he had somehow failed English.

He and his officers have finally arrived exactly on the area where the taxi driver had claimed he had dropped off the woman. Asking a few people on the streets, showing her pictures (the recent ones were pretty old, but they most still recognized her), and although they would not exactly point out where she was exactly, it at least confirmed to Heiji that they were in the correct area.

While Yosubei, Miyamoto, Kensuke are spreading out, asking more people about the Maehara Shinobu, Heiji looked around for a few moments, his mind working slightly on a few details, trying to find a theory in which to help him on his search. From all the information he had gathered, Maehara Shinobu had just arrived in Japan from Molmol. Paying a cab driver in Demam, the next logical step would be exchanging her money to Yen.

She hadn't done so in the airport. Maybe she forgot? Well, no matter. The fact she had done so means her next logical destination would be an exchange teller, and since the banks are now closed, the pawnshops would be next.

There were three of them on his current vicinity. Hurrying off, he went to the one closest to him, and went towards the tellers. Flashing his badge, and a picture of Shinobu got nothing. Apparently, she hadn't passed this place. Taking that to face value for now, he went immediately to the next pawnshop hoping for more luck.

"Excuse me," Heiji called, noticing a brief moment of stiffness at the response of the teller. Well, he did come in unannounced. Plus it was pretty dark outside now… he wished that the store had more internal lighting.

"Good evening sir," the teller smiled. "May I help you?"

"Yes," Heiji approached, noticing the man in a jacket in front of the teller looking somewhat shady. He ignored that and flashed his badge. "Have you seen this woman around?" and this time, he showed Shinobu's picture. "She's a bit younger here, but she's currently at least at her late teens. The word out also says she's been wearing-" and he stopped for a moment when in the corner of his eye, he spotted the teller slowly closing the drawer where he kept the cash.

There it was. A Demam. Everything after that was a flash. The shady man in front of the counter went for his hip, and Heiji, automatically reacted as he was trained to. He ducked, his hand going for his holster, while the man grabbed out a handgun, and took a wild shot. He had been aiming for Heiji, but since he ducked, the shot missed him, but hit the teller on the shoulder, who shouted out in pain and surprise.

With his gun out, Heiji aimed and shot towards the other man's knee. He went down in a heap, his cry vibrating in the pawnshop. A rather large huge amount of Demams flurried out of a small brown envelope tethering out of his inner jacket pocket.

"Congratulations, my friend, you just gave yourself away." Heiji stated as he holstered his gun and immediately grabbed the handcuffs from the back of his belt. Pinning the two hands of the perpetrator on his own back, Heiji turned the man forcefully to face him. "Now," he took out the photo of Shinobu again, and asked, "Where is she?"

**To Be Continued…**

* * *

_Author's Notes: _

_Well, that came out much better. I think I'm getting a hang of this… but… meh. Its Febuary. Any gamer fan knows what's coming in Febuary right? Yup… Killzone 2. But… promise! I shall write more! :P Take care guys, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. _


	4. Forging New Partnerships

**03 – Forging New Partnerships**

* * *

Heiji grunted as he moved slowly towards a dilapidated building, just a few blocks where he had left the suspect he had caught earlier cuffed, along with the teller, who had been part of the scheme. It was pretty easy to get the gist of what was going on… all it took was a little threat on his part, plus the fact the thug was pretty much ignorant with the finer parts of police enforcement helped, and the beans were spilled.

The whole thing was a very rough type of sting operation. The teller would be the lookout, spot folks with cash strapped on them, and when they leave, he would call the gang and describe their target. Outside, more gang members would tag the target. They would use a baiting technique to force their target to a more isolated area, where they would rob them of their cash.

The thug back at the pawnshop had confessed that the girl they had robbed, Maehara Shinobu, was being held at their hideout. To them, if she was rich enough to exchange millions of yen on her person, her family must have had more. Heiji sighed with some relief… at least it wasn't something more… well, the detective didn't want to think it. As long as she was relatively safe, it would do.

The horizon was encompassed with darkness. The area around the dilapidated building was barely lit, making the surroundings far more sinister than it was. There were no adjacent buildings… the hideout was smacked in an empty space, though obviously it was far from abandoned. Motorcycles of different models were parked outside of it, and while the windows were barricaded, some holes indicated that there was light inside, and if one looked closely, there was activity.

Signaling his charges, Heiji, Yosubei, Miyamoto and Kensuke began to stealthily moved behind the front end of the building, and entered, keeping themselves as low and as quiet as possible. The young detective didn't want to attract the attention of any unsavory character without any back-up, now did he?

Using hand signals, the four officers began to spread around as they had finally entered. Luckily, the interior was filled with rather large boxes that had enough volume to hide the officers, away from the eyes of the rather ugly looking bunch of biker gang members that had taken this place as a sort of headquarters.

Rather scary, Heiji thought as he shifted his weight beneath his feet, crouched, his gun cocked and ready. He had no plans to use it yet… it was more of a means of intimidation rather than an offense. The gang outnumbered them on the floor they were in, and he was pretty sure there were more upstairs.

No… the real reason why they were hiding here was a small surprise flank. A few minutes ago, he had contacted the Chief of police, explaining the situation. If things went smoothly, he was pretty sure there would be two vans of SWAT teams coming in, informed of a potential hostage situation, while Patrol would come for the wounded teller and gang member that Heiji had caught earlier.

Now all he could do was wait.

* * *

"Shit… she had nothing else on her…"

"The cash would be good enough to last us months! Lucky break!"

"What do we do with her now boss?"

"I'm sure we can think of some things…"

"Hands off. We try something like that, the police will be over our asses!"

"How about… **her**?"

"SHHH! Godamnit… don't talk about that freaky lady!?"

Shinobu's eyes stirred, the voices hammering in her skull. She felt wobbly, and for a moment, out of it, wondering where she was, and why she was there. There was a slight moment as memories started pouring in…

After she had exchanged a rather modest sum of money, she caught the attention of a young man in a dreadful state. Being good-natured, she went to him, rather deep inside a narrow passage to give him something that would feed and clothe him… and the next thing she knew, her mouth was covered in a cloth filled with an odd smell that knocked her out.

She stilled… her eyes opening slightly to see what was going on around her. Their words felt like hammers hitting metal pots… her hands were unbound, which she found surprising, but thankful, at least. The two men arguing would only point at her. One had his pants down.

Intentions were obvious. In desperation and fear, she suddenly stood up and lunged towards the man nearest to her, and with her training in Mol-Mol, she executed a perfect throw, downing the man in seconds.

The men around her realized it. They reacted too slowly. Shinobu was already going towards her next opponent, one nearer the stairs this time, which she'd use as her portal of escape, and easily threw that man down as well… but by then, everyone reacted.

* * *

Heiji noticed the commotion immediately. Knowing something was afoot, he signaled his men to draw their weapons and take the men by surprise. Counting to three, the officers and Heiji shouted 'Freeze' with their guns drawn. Some gang members were taken by surprise, but others, armed with automatic sub-machine guns and had itchy trigger fingers, squeezed the triggers without thought.

Bullets flew. Bodies of some gang members became unfortunate targets as the inexperienced, yet rather heavily armed fools just kept pressing the trigger.

"Goddamnit! Call the Chief," Heiji shouted towards his closest companions: Yosubei, Miyamoto, and Kensuke. Miyamoto nodded, and grabbed his cellphone out and began to dial the number. "Tell them we need back-up! Bring the SWAT team if you have to…!"

Everything suddenly went dark. The lights came down and with the windows shut in by wooden barricades, almost everything went pitch black; the gang member who was firing stopped immediately, surprised.

He suddenly felt the wind shift at his side. The sound of wood creaking near him. Then, he saw a shadow move in front of him. He then knew it.

"Oh God… she's here! She's…!"

His words were cut off when he suddenly shouted, asking, no begging to be let down. The sound of his gun clattered on the floor, and every other gang member alive and standing paled under the barely visible light. The next moment later, they could see a body hanging upside down.

Then, an explosion. Those without much nerve simply dropped their weapons and ran, only to be taken out one at a time. The braver ones looked desperately at one another.

"Stick together! Stick together!" one of them shouted. "Group up, damnit! She's just picking us off one at a time!"

"Smart," was a reply. A female voice. Behind him.

"AUGH!"

That's when some of the braver men ran as well.

"Good God," Heiji muttered as he stood up slightly. He saw her… this Dark Lady who everyone was talking about. It was dark, but he could make out her silhouette. Her form was… well, to any man's eyes, it would have been anything but perfect. There was a raw sort of animalistic nature in her form, the dark boogeyman most people wouldn't want to meet on the street. She definitely looked like a bat.

That's when he remembered his job. He aimed his gun at her, and yelled, "FREEZE!"

The Dark Lady looked at him, and her hands moved quickly. There was a glint of metal, and before Heiji knew it, something passed him, and hit the thug creeping up behind him. Heiji lowered his weapon for a second, looking behind him and saw one of the gang members lying on the floor, groaning, his gun clattered uselessly on the floor.

His eyes quickly saw something in the dark, and immediately, automatically, aimed his gun back towards the shadowy figure, and squeezed the trigger of his gun. The Dark Lady didn't even seem to react as one of the thugs also sneaking behind her shouted as he grabbed his elbow, the pipe he was going to use to smash her head in dropped on the floor.

"There was no need for that," the figure muttered. "But thanks. Officer."

Suddenly, she seemed to float up, and disappear in the darkness of the ceiling. Heiji lowered his weapon, looking at the spot the mysterious vigilante had disappeared to.

"My name is Heiji Kei…" he muttered rather blankly.

* * *

Back-up arrived after a few minutes… and in Heiji's opinion, a few minutes too late. Everything was done and over. After the Dark Lady disappeared from the shadows, Heiji moved up each floor systematically, until he finally found a barely lit room full of downed thugs, and somewhat disbelieved looking woman.

"Maehara Shinobu?" Heiji asked. The young woman finally noticed him, and backed away a bit.

"Relax, miss, I'm a police officer," Heiji calmly took out his badge as he approached her. Standard operating procedure. "Are you okay miss? Shall we call an ambulance?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Shinobu insisted. Then, he saw Heiji's face under a ray of light coming from one of the holes of the covered windows. She gave a gasp. "Senpai…!?"

"Huh?"

"Oh… no… you're not… I mean, I'm sorry…" she began to blush. Heiji just seemed to chuckle.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Maehara-san…" he replied, and looked around. "What happened here?"

"Um… I was trying to go home to visit my father when… um… I got… um…"

"Jumped?" Heiji offered.

Shinobu just nodded. "I woke up, untied and I knocked…" and she pointed towards one of the men nearest to her position, "… that guy out…"

"Wait, wait a moment…" Heiji cut her off. "You… knocked that guy out?"

The young woman blushed. How was she supposed to explain that her friend, a princess of MolMol insisted that she learned to defend herself during her stay there? Instead, she just nodded blankly.

"Nice job!" Heiji smiled, and the young woman blushed at the compliment.

"I was then surrounded, everything went dark, and… well, she came…" Shinobu muttered the last words in awe. "She just went at them without pause… the darkness embraced her. All of them came down one at a time, hitting them all left and right, and when they were all done… she just left."

Heiji nodded, then checked on the downed men, and checked their pulse. All alive… all unconscious. They'd be bruised a bit, but their beatings weren't all that brutal. Whoever this Dark Lady character was, she just used enough force to incapacitate, nothing more.

"Who is she?" the young woman asked.

"A vigilante," Heiji replied softly. "A criminal."

"She's a hero," Shinobu insisted with a whisper.

Heiji didn't know how to respond to that, and just settled with a small smile.

* * *

Paperwork… the bane of any hardworking police officer, more so when you add the factor of spotting the mysterious shadowy vigilante. How do you describe a woman wearing all black, her eyes absent, and even her skin color? All Heiji could put there was that she looked like a giant humanoid bat. He was not going to hear the end of this if the gossiping female police officers found it funny.

The Chief was pretty much neutral about it. Half-expected the man to demand Heiji why he didn't take her down, he was somewhat surprised when he just said nothing, Heiji's worries abated.

Maehara Shinobu was also in the headquarters. Heiji had insisted she come along so her testimony would be put on record, not telling her that she was being put to protection for other reasons… one of them had to do with her former manager, who is now known as the Joker. He also got her staying residence and contact number, just in case.

She was apparently staying with her father, who was a taxi driver. Her parents divorced, and Shinobu, unwilling to watch the two duke it out in the courts and at home, decided to run away, and was taken in by the residents of the All Girl's Dorm as the resident cook.

Most of her money that was taken by the gang were thankfully confiscated and returned to her. There was no shortage, something she was thankful. Heiji never questioned why she needed the money… deemed it too personal to ask.

Her father came in after the questions were asked, and the money was given. Heiji smiled as he saw the face of the father, who looked worse for wear, shine as he saw his daughter running to him. They both hugged, with the father crying somewhat openly as he patted her head, while she too cried, talking to her dad with warmth. Then, they separated, and Heiji, who stood close to them stood straight as Shinobu began to bring her father along and approached him.

"Dad… this is Heiji-san. He helped that woman save me…" she introduced.

Hadn't it been true, Heiji would have found the inclusion of the mysterious vigilante a bit annoying. "Good evening, Maehara-san."

"Thank you, Heiji-san, for all your work," the man stated, bowing a bit. "If there is anything we can do…"

"It was my job, Maehara-san," Heiji smiled. "I am just glad your daughter was safe."

Watching them leave, Heiji felt a stab of pride. Today was a good day… not much mystery to solve, but he saved a woman and arrested a whole gang. He also spotted the shadowy woman in a bat costume, but even if she got away, there were other chances. Waving goodbye towards Shinobu as she got on her father's taxi, they drove away, leaving him behind the precinct.

With steady steps, he climbed towards his office. He wondered for a moment, as he sat down on his chair and wondered whether he was going to go back to his apartment or just spend the night at his office when he noticed that the window on the west portion of the room, the left part of his desk, was open.

The lights suddenly went out, and from the right side, a shadowy figure emerged from the shadows. Heiji's heart almost jumped out of his chest, and his hand automatically went to for his right holster to his gun, though from his position, he wouldn't be able to draw it unless he stood… and he knew, at her range, he wouldn't have gotten a shot out before she was unto him.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded with a level voice, though inside, he was shaking.

"To talk," she replied, and walked towards the door. There was a clicking sound, and Heiji knew she locked it. She then quickly went in front of the desk, towering over him.

"Talk then…" Heiji muttered, his body ready to defend itself if she were to attack.

"You're a good cop," she began. "One of the few I think I can trust. Plus… you also have a bit of authority."

"So…?"

She seemed to throw something at the desk. Something quite heavy. Heiji was still a bit stiff, so he knew he wasn't the one who opened the light-shade at his desk. He had blinked for a moment as the bright light entered the darkened room, and when his eyes adjusted, he finally saw her in detail.

She wore a very skin-tight costume in matte black. There weren't any much details, though he did see some formation on the fabric, making him wonder what kind of clothing she was wearing, and whether it bullet-proof. There was a somewhat big sign of a bat, its outline in thin yellow line. Her mask was made of the same, if not more formed and harder looking material, which made him wonder how she could see or even breathe through the material.

She just looked at him, unmoving. He stared at her for a moment, before he looked down at his desk, and was surprised to find a somewhat big bag filled with money.

"Are you bribing me?" he asked immediately.

"Don't be silly," she seemed to growl. "Use this money to do drug-buys."

Watching his confused face, she seemed to sigh.

"Use this money and tell your team to buy drugs from the Yakuza…"

"I know what a drug-buy is," it was Heiji's turn to sound annoyed. "Why though? What is so special about this money?"

"They are lightly irradiated marked bills," she explained. "Buy enough, you can probably pin-point where the Yakuza keep their money."

Heiji got it immediately. He looked impressed. "A bit too fancy for a city cop like me…"

"Tell them you are getting help from various of agencies," she shrugged. "Just keep the plan to yourself mostly. Like I said earlier… I do not trust the other cops."

"Why not?"

"I know of your last operation…" she replied, somewhat cruelly for Heiji, who felt embarrassed. "I doubt you want anything happen to waste your efforts again."

"What are you playing at?" he asked. "What is in it for you?"

She seemed to ignore the question. "At the bottom of the bag is a machine which can detect the marked bills. Use it well."

Heiji looked down at the bag just for a moment, and looked up, only to see her gone. He stood up, and walked towards the open window, where she had obviously made her disappearance, and looked outside. The world seemed to pass by, as if nothing had happened, no shadowy figure in sight.

Had Heiji looked up, he would have seen her, upside down, supported by a single rope. She stared at him from the top, before she slowly ascended towards the roof, which was silent and bare. She then removed her mask, revealing Kudo's neutral expression as she stared at the city she had sworn to protect, the wind blowing her cape slightly.

For a moment, she just stood there, and then put on her mask again, took out what looked like a gun, and fired it. A long length of chord traveled out, and she swung from it, over the city.

The first step was done.

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
